Boca Raton, FL – On Thursday, February 2, at about 6:20 p.m., Boca Raton Police officers responded to an attempted robbery that occurred in Dixie Manor, 1350 North Dixie Highway.

The victim, Pablo Perez, told officers he and his wife had taken a walk to the park, located in the center of the development, as they do every day. While they were returning home, they noticed they were being followed by three males. The males tried to speak to Perez, but because they spoke English and Perez only speaks Spanish, he did not understand them. Perez and his wife returned to their apartment without further incident.

About 30 minutes later, Perez heard a knock on the apartment door which is wife answered. A male at the door began speaking in English to his wife. Perez went to the door, pulled his wife back into the apartment and tried to close the front door. Before Perez could get the door closed, the suspect reached inside and grabbed two gold chain necklaces from his neck. Perez struggled with the suspect who dropped the necklaces on the front porch of the apartment as he ran away.

Officers and detectives searched the area and spoke with several people who were in the area, but the suspect was not located. Based upon a photo line-up, Perez identified Jason Jean-Baptiste as resembling the suspect, but told detectives his nose was different. Detectives continued to investigate the crime and spoke to several residents who said they believed a juvenile, later identified as Jason Jean-Baptiste, was responsible for the robbery. On Tuesday, February 21, detectives spoke with Jean-Baptiste who confessed to grabbing the necklaces from Perez’s neck. Jean-Baptiste was arrested and charged with robbery.